Digimon Battle Overview

Finally, a MMORPG based on the Digimon Franchise! WeMade Entertainment, the same developer behind such titles as Mir 2, The Legend of Mir 3, and Avalon Heroes have published the game here in North America. Digimon Battle has a turn based combat system and gives players to ability to catch Digimon and use them in battle against evil Digimon. The game is aimed at children and has a classic point-and-click control scheme where the mouse controls movement and combat. Keyboard shortcuts are also used to speed up gameplay.

Tamers:

Takato Matsuki - Likes to draw Digimon and play card games with friends. Not proficient in handling cards, but has an outstanding ability to interact with partner digimon.

Henry Wong - Highly skilled with computers and using cards. He became a tamer to fight against evil monsters.

Rika Nonaka - Very intelligent and highly skilled with cards. She is a bit cold hearted.

Jeri Katou - A new tamer, she tends to be sloppy but has exceptional skill at handling Digimon.

Starting Digimon:

Gigimon - Armed with sharp teeth, Gigimon is capable of taking on much larger Digimon. Its skill is Hot Bite.

Viximon - An elusive Digimon that only moves under moonlight. Its skill is Killer Boulder which transforms Viximon into a boulder and emits a poisonous gas.

Gummymon - A genetically unstable Digimon armed with a solid horn. Its skill is Double Bubble which shoots out bubbles.

Digimon Battle Screenshots

Digimon Battle Featured Video

Full Review

Digimon Battle Review

By, Erhan Altay

Digimon, or Digital Monsters, was a popular anime series that followed on the success of Pokemon. While both franchises centered around kids raising monsters as pets, they had vastly different settings. Thanks to WeMade Entertainment, fans of the show now have a real digital world in which to interact with Digimon and other Digimon tamers. Digimon Battle has a turn based combat system which suits the genre well. But it is obvious graphics were sacrificed in exchange for ease of play and broad system compatibility. Was the compromise worth it? Does Digimon Battle do the franchise justice? Let’s find out.

Tamers and the Tamed

Digimon Battle went into open beta testing in March 2010 to much fanfare. The publishers quickly opened three servers to meet the oncoming demand. New players must create an account on the official site, but those who have already registered with WeMade for Mir 3 can use their existing account. The client size for Digimon Battle is surprisingly large for a game that looks so old. After the patch, players will see that Digimon Battle is a no-frills 2D MMORPG with a single resolution setting — 800×600. There is an option to play in windowed mode, and a few graphic settings such as shadow, alpha, and ‘cardslash’ visuals. Each account is given four character slots per server, but players are unlikely to use all of these. Character creation in Digimon Battle is a very simple process; simply select from four tamers and three starting Digimon. Each tamer has a different personality and strength, and each digimon digivolves into different forms.

The Digi Bureau

New players start their journey in the Digital Admin Bureau which is one of the 15 zones that comprise the ‘Real World.’ Monsters up to level 15 can be found throughout the ‘Real World’ but harder opponents must be encountered in the ‘Digital World’ which comprises 20 zones with an additional 6 under development. A tutorial dialogue box will appear and guide players until level 11. Digimon Battle is a pretty simple game so most players will have no trouble figuring things out. One of the more interesting features that could use explanation is the Card system. Players can equip various cards and use them in battle instead of their normal attack or skill. The first card type players encounter is a simple attack card but types such as healing cards can also be found.

Growing Up Digitally

It is possible to pick up a few quests in town, but they’re not worth doing since the experience rate is so high. The only exception to this is the level 11 quest located in the second level of the Gateway Dungeon since it gives a special mudfrigimon card reward which is required to travel to the Digital World. Getting to level 11 only takes around 30 minutes, and most of that time is spent walking around looking for high level digimon to battle. Zones are usually very large and towns have only a few key NPCs. Combat is only initiated when a player walks up to wild digimon and right clicks on it. Battles themselves take place on a separate screen with an ‘action time battle’ system. What this means is that all combatants have a TP gauge that starts empty and fills depending on the speed stat of each digimon. Only when this gauge is full can a digimon act.

Easy Mode

The difficulty in Digimon Battle is definitely on the easy side. As a game tailored for kids, this isn’t too surprising. What this means is that NPC controlled digimon don’t even get to attack in most battles. There’s no auto attack feature either so players have to manually issue either a regular attack, a skill, or a card. In other words, gameplay is reduces to mindless ‘grind’ within minutes of logging in. Digimon can’t use skills until level 6, but do receive 1 skill point per level. Digimon also receive 2 stat points per level which can be distributed among 4 stats: Strength, Con, Dex, and Int. Hovering the cursor over the ‘+’ sign next to each stat reveals the benefits of that stat. Str increases physical attack damage and HP, Con raises defense, HP, and VP (shields), Dex increases speed and dodge rate, and Int raises BattleLevel, VP, and Defense.

Gottcha Catch ‘em All!

After hitting level 11, players advance to the rank of ‘Rookie’ and are able to catch additional Digimon. Players only have three chances to catch a digimon during any given battle, but the odds of success seem to be completely random. Tamers can have up to 5 digimon at a time under their control and must use their main ‘partner’ digimon to summon the four others into a battle one at a time. Only low level Digimon can be caught and must be leveled up before becoming effective. Fortunately, the experience rate is split between all active digimon so players are free to use their main one to dish out the damage and have their weak digimon share in the experience.

Fast Learner

A fast experience rate combined with super easy gameplay means tamers and their digimon will level up rapidly during the early game. Each digimon has a different key stat which may change as they digivolve. Digimon digivolve at four key levels with each corresponding to a new title: Rookie (level 11), Champion (level 21), Ultimate (level 31), and Mega (level 41.) Experience slows down at 11 to the point where it takes more than a battle or two to level up. The ‘real world’ area only has monsters up to level 15 so players who want to keep training will have to move to the Digital World fairly soon.

Make it Simple

The interface in Digimon Battle is very simple. The mouse controls movement and combat, though keyboard short cuts are available. The world map displays each zone as a node on the screen and players can hover the cursor over each node to see what NPCs and Digimon can be found there. Players can either manually travel between zones by means of portals, or use a ‘Jump Gate’ item to teleport instantly. The graphics are on par with other 2D turn based MMORPGs like Zodiac Online, Fairyland Online, Myth War 2 Online, and Wonderland Online. Gameplay is a bit simpler, but the lack of an auto-attack feature is unfortunate. Besides fighting AI, players can challenge each other to duels. In many ways the gameplay in Digimon Battle resembles Pokemon, the AI is just there to grind off of while competitive duels among friends is where the real fun is at.

Worth the Wait?

Digimon Battle might not be the MMORPG some fans had envisioned, but its still a highly playable game that can be enjoyed in short bursts. The graphic style is dated, but it gives the game a Game Boy Advance like feel. The game is a bit light on content, but judging by the Korean version of the game, there’s still a lot to be added to the new North American servers. So far Digimon Battle has attracted a large audience, the challenge now is to keep them coming back for more.

Final Verdict: Good

Digimon Battle offers simple gameplay and a simple interface. Tame, train, and battle digimon against wild Digimon and other tamers in turn based battles. The card system adds some variety and strategy to the game, but Digimon Battle is still a simple MMORPG that’s likely to mainly interest a younger audience.